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Overview

My major research interests focus on patterns of inequality across the life span, with a special interest in the temporal diversity of life transitions, their consequences for later life, and the impact of institutions on these transitions over time. Over thirty-three years I have examined workplace policies related to wage and benefit structures and the impact of workers' educational, work and family histories on wage and fringe benefit outcomes. The changing employment relationship and the re-organization of retirement institutions (especially pensions) have been a central concern of my research. Most recently, I have turned to the cumulative impact of economic adversity on midlife health risks, such as heart attack. This research has uncovered the persistent effects of childhood adversity on midlife heart attack risk, especially among women. I am expanding this focus over the next few years to examine the more general question of "life course risks" and increased economic and social inequalities.